THE judges who decide whether Coventry becomes UK City of Culture in 2021 have visited the city.
A group led by judges panel chairman Phil Redmond CBE was given a whistle-stop tour of the city including visits to Coventry Cathedral, FarGo Village, the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum and the former Coventry Evening Telegraph building currently being used as an arts space.
Mr Redmond is a writer and TV script writer who was famed for his gritty TV soap Brookside for the new Channel 4 in the 1980s, and for BBC children’s programme Grange Hill in the 1970s and 1980s.
They met cultural and community groups and businesses that have thrown their support behind the bid to be UK City of Culture.
A reception was held at Fargo Village in the city centre, attended by hundreds of people.
Laura McMillan, manager of Coventry City of Culture Trust, said: “It was great to welcome Phil Redmond and the panel to Coventry and to show them this fantastic city and also to meet our wonderful people.
“We showed them some of elements of the growing cultural offer in Coventry but, also, it was a chance to talk to them about why Coventry needs this so much. City of Culture would be a game-changer for the city and that’s why we are all working so hard to win it.
“The level of support here is incredible and that really shone through and while we know the other four cities will present very strong cases too, we believe the time is right for Coventry to tell its story to the world through UK City of Culture 2021.”
Coventry will find out if it has been successful in December.
The other shortlisted cities are Paisley, Sunderland, Swansea and Stoke-on-Trent.
Coventry City Council, The University of Warwick, and Coventry University are Principal Partners of the bid and are providing significant support. The Ricoh Arena is Bid Sponsor while Jaguar Land Rover, Adient, Friargate, Coventry Building Society, the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, Birmingham Airport, PET-Xi, SCC, Pertemps, CEF (City Electrical Factors) and Listers are also Bid Development Sponsors.
To show your support for Coventry’s bid on social media, go to @Coventry2021 on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. For more information, log onto www.coventry2021.co.uk
